Stephane-Hessel-Obituary

Stephane Hessel

Obituary

PARIS (AP) - Stephane Hessel of France was a man of many talents.

As a spy for the French Resistance, he survived the Nazi death camp at Buchenwald by assuming the identity of a French prisoner who was already dead. As a diplomat, he helped write the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And at age 93, after a distinguished but relatively anonymous life, he published a slim pamphlet that even he expected would be little more than a vanity project.

Au contraire.

Hessel's 32-page "Time for Outrage" sold millions of copies across Europe, tapping into a vein of popular discontent with capitalism and transforming him into an intellectual superstar within weeks. Translated into English, the pocket-sized book became a source of inspiration for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

In the book, Hessel urges young people to take inspiration from the anti-Nazi resistance to which he once belonged and rally against what he saw as the newest evil: The love of money.

The book, called "Indignez-vous" in French, had an initial run of 8,000 copies in 2010 and sold for 3 ($4) before becoming a best-seller.

Hessel died overnight in Paris. He was 95.

"I'm eagerly awaiting the taste of death. Death is something to savor, and I hope to savor mine. In the meantime, given that it has not yet happened and that I'm generally getting around normally, I'm using the time to throw out some messages," Hessel told RTL radio in 2011.

Born in Germany, Hessel and his parents immigrated to France in 1924, where they settled into an avant-garde life, hanging out with artists like Alexander Calder and Marcel Duchamp.

Hessel fled to London to join the resistance led by Gen. Charles de Gaulle in 1941, but snuck back into occupied France on a spying mission in 1944, where he was arrested by the Gestapo and shipped off to the Nazis' Buchenwald concentration camp. The day before he was to be hanged, he swapped his identity with another French prisoner who had died of typhus.

As a French diplomat after World War II, Hessel joined a panel that included former U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt which wrote up the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hessel "leaves us with the invaluable heritage of fighting for universal human values and his inalienable sense of liberty," Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said Wednesday.

A proud Socialist, Hessel said the aim of "Time for Outrage" was to convince adrift or discouraged young people that they can change society for the better - even if they feel the world is controlled by entrenched and financially powerful interests. But he hardly expected it would find a large audience in France, much less elsewhere.

Hessel said he purposely offered no solutions.

"I am not giving them a meaning, but I am saying: 'Do try to find for yourself what would be meaningful.'"

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Hessel had succee ded in that goal.

"In France, in Europe, in the world, Stephane Hessel was the spirit of resistance incarnate," he said. "For every generation, for young people, he was a source of inspiration but also a reference. At 95, he embodied faith in the future of this new century."

LORI HINNANT, Associated Press


Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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To Hessel family. May God bring peace in your hearts as yu reflect on all the wonderful memories of Mr. Hessel.-Psalm 65:2.

thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you...


May your fond memories bring a smile to your face. Turn to God to bring you comfort in your distress. He is near to all those calling upon him and their cry's for help he hears.
Psalms 145: 18,19


May your fond memories bring a smile to your face. Turn to God to bring you comfort in your distress. He is near to all those calling upon him and their cry's for help he hears.
Psalms 145: 18,19

Courageous, principled people who overcome difficulties such as Mr. Hessel are rare finds. May he have the opportunity to live in a world free of bigotry, where justice, beauty and equality reign - a true Paradise.

Thank you Mr Hessel for speaking out and being apart of the Russell tribunal and for your support of the Palestinians & Palestine. your work will carry on . Condolences to his family & friends

Thank you so very much for contributing to the legacy of social justice.

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your Dear loved one. Just know that God is the only one that will be able to sustain you during this time of sorrow. Just find joy in knowing that you will be able to see him again soon.